Travelling in Myanmar - it's complicated.

Until a few years ago Myanmar was one of the Asian countries which used a Dual-currency money system. Dual-currency means the common use of 2 different currencies in one country. For example in Siem Reap, Cambodia, one can use US-dollars for everything because Cambodia is a dual-currency country - even the ATMs dispense dollars. In Myanmar however there are no dollars bills dispensed but only Kyat notes.

Dual-currency can be used to enable dual pricing. Myanmar, like its neighbors India and Thailand, has a Dual-pricing policy. The Taj Mahal for example has a 40 Rupees entry fee for Indian nationals, but 1000 Rupees for foreigners. The dual pricing system in Myanmar was be set up so tourists had to pay most hotels, zone-fees and all airfares in dollars. Burmese citizens can pay in Kyats; for example the Kyat rate for flights is about 20% lower than the dollar rate for the same flight. Foreign tourists can nowadays also pay hotels and guesthouses in Kyats but - not at the lower rate for Burmese citizens.

Recently the government has started to reduce the use of dollars; since 2013 nearly all museums and archaeological zone fees are payable in Kyats. Airline tickets are paid in dollars, and most hotels can still be paid in dollars, but also in Kyats. Exchange counters in Myanmar do not charge commission and the difference between buy and sell rate is about 2%. In Europe the difference is closer to 20%. Most banks and exchange offices have about the same exchange rate, whether it is in Yangon or anywhere else.

Unrest in 2017 impacts tourism in Myanmar.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

2017 has been a turbulent year for Myanmar. The rapid increase in the number of tourists has stopped abruptly, armed conflict and refugees have been prevalent in the border regions. Despite hopes that the new NLD government would bring an end to the conflicts, the Burmese Army has intensified offensives in Rakhine and the northern Shan states. More than 500,000 people have been displaced across Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states since October 2016.

Myanmar has embarked upon a Road to democracy after the first free elections in 2015. Are they still aiming for full democracy, or are they engaged in the game of "Kicking the can down the road"? Perhaps there is no straight road to democracy?

Ashin Wirathu.

Ashin Wirathu is the nationalist Buddhist monk of the religious organisation Ma Ba Tha.
Since 2012 there have been clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in Myanmar. Ma Ba Tha is a Buddhist organization which is responsible for much of the unrest; and in 2016 supporters of Ma Ba Tha campaigned against the Rohingya on Facebook. Ashin Wirathu is one of the prominent leaders of MaBaTha.

mizzima.com - Ashin Wirathu is the subject of a new documentary showing at France’s Cannes Film Festival (May 2017).

frontiermyanmar.net - A shadowy group of “patriots” nostalgic for junta rule is exploiting religion in the hope of creating a national emergency that would justify a Tatmadaw takeover.

www.newmandala.org - 13-june-2018 - Assessing the Rohingya crisis. And some solid background articles on the political events in Myanmar.

A quote from the venerable monk U Uttara: "All suffering in Myanmar is man made. What we need is a mind change. If we don’t change the way we think, the suffering in this country will never end." (September 16, 2015, frontiermyanmar.net)

The hotel situation in Myanmar

Hotel prices in Yangon have doubled in 2012 and tripled in 2013, but in recent years the hotel rates have been declining. The overall picture is that the number of tourist arrivals has slowed down significantly because of the Rakhine unrest in 2016/2017.

Earthquake damage in Bagan.

On 24-aug-2016 Myanmar was hit by a 6.8-magnitude earthquake; the quake damaged almost 400 temples in Bagan. Following the earthquake the government has built four new sunset viewing platforms, and once these were finished all major sunset pagodas were closed.

Bagan has introduced digital tickets in 2018 and shortened the validity. More information on Bagan's entry fee and sunset temples:

Tourist traps (2018)

There are some tourist traps and scams in Burma; though much less than in other asian countries. There used to be money changing scams in Yangon when people changed on the black market; before 2012. The latest popular scam is the Dala ferry tour Scam. If you take the ferry across the Yangon river to Dala (Dallah), some rickshaw drivers offer a guided tour for "whatever you want to pay". Turns out to be quite expensive (some end up paying 100$ or more). You will be asked to buy a bag of rice at 50$ for orphans or victims of the Nargis cyclone or such things.

Is there only bad news ?

The good news is about the Myanmar restaurant scene; which is improving rapidly.

And finally something about the Burmese cuisine that is strongly influenced by China and India. Burmese cuisine? Let's just call it "Burmese food" because cuisine is a rather too elevated description. Burmese curry is very different from the delicious Indian curries - a Burmese curry is just a few pieces of chicken floating around in a bowl of oil. No creamy Biriyani, no delectable Makhanwala, no surprising Navratan Korma ... but they do make the regular dishes like Thalis, Samosas, Masala dosa, Dal, and so on.

Fortunately things have been improving rapidly the last few years; new reasonably priced restaurants have been opening up left and right. The value of the Kyat has also tumbled because of the high inflation in Myanmar; which helps to bring dinner prices down - except in the high-end restaurants that are priced in dollars (e.g. L'Opera, Le Planteur and The Strand). The pricing range is huge; for example a large bottle of Mandalay beer can be 1500 to 2000 Kyat, but in a resort on Inle lake they sometimes charge up to 9000 kyat for the exact same beer. The cost of a dinner can also vary considerably; and the food hygiene is not up to the level of Thailand.

If you're a Foodie then you should try Shan noodles, and the Lahpet Thoke or Burmese Tea Leaf Salad is really worth a try. And if you're quite bold and interested in exotic food then you might like Ngapi (a fermented fish paste) or fermented beans (Pè Ngapi).

2018: Facebook or Hatebook?

And Facebook is finally taking measures, maybe a few years too late. Researchers and human rights activists say they cautioned Facebook for years that its platform was being used in Myanmar to promote racism and hatred of Muslims, in particular the Rohingya.

As of June 2018, Facebook had over 60 Myanmar language experts reviewing content and will have at least 100 by the end of this year. This is mainly done through a secretive operation in Kuala Lumpur that’s outsourced to Accenture, a digital information company, and codenamed "Project Honey Badger." Facebook told Reuters it was "investing more in the teams who are working on Myanmar" as it seeks to "understand and respond to Myanmar’s unique technical challenges." It has designated a radical Buddhist group, Ma Ba Tha (Wikipedia), and several prominent monks known for vitriol toward Rohingya as "hate figures and organizations", and blocked them from the platform. This has led to the removal of a lot of harmful and violating content. www.dvb.no

If Facebook is effective remains the question; a detailed Reuters article on Facebook in Myanmar: www.reuters.co

Concluding, it looks like the steep rise in tourist numbers in the last 7 or 8 years has stopped, and tourism has levelled off since 2016. That certainly makes travel in Myanmar cheaper and easier then a few years ago. Yes, the planning is still complicated, don't expect exact timetables for buses and such modernities as online booking.

On the other hand flights can be booked online or at your hotel just a few days before, and most hotels can nowadays be booked online. And let's not forget: Myanmar is a very safe country to travel through; with the local people always ready to help make your journey easy.

Euro and dollar exchange in Yangon

Until April 2012 the kyat had both an official and a black market rate. The official rate was about 6 Kyat per US dollar, but the black market rate somewhat higher at 840 Kyat to the dollar. Which explains why travellers changed money on the black market. On 2-April-2012 the Burmese central bank officially floated the Kyat and normal money exchange became legal.

You will get a better rate for large dollar bills. Large Euro bills (100/200) are not much better.

Which currency - Euro or dollars?

Which currency to take to Myanmar; Euro or dollars? The best choice for Europeans (except the Brits) is to take Euro notes and change these to Kyats. If you find you need dollars you can also change Euro notes straight to dollars at any exchange office.

Most hotels are priced in US dollars, but one can usually also pay with Kyats at good rates. Since 2013 all zone-fees like the Shwedagon pagoda and Inle lake zone fee can be paid with Kyats.

You might suppose that with the introduction of many ATMs the pristine dollar or Euro bills would be a thing of the past; but it is probably still smart to bring cash money - if only as a backup. Also, the maximum withdrawal amount is 300.000 Kyats, which is less than 200 US dollars at the moment. Then the ATM service fees add up quickly! (exchange.htm)

Myanmar Myths and Rumours

Travelers’ diarrhea is the most common malady affecting travelers to the tropics, and the rumours about food poisoning are not fake news. The chance of getting a bad tummy is much higher than catching malaria. In my experience Burmese food is cleaner than Indian and the bacteria are not that horrible, but generally restaurants can be less hygienic than in other SE-asian countries. It's better to be careful and observe indian eating rules - only warm, cooked food and no salads unless from a proper and clean kitchen. Despite all that the Lahpet Thoke or Burmese Tea Leaf Salad is worth a try ...

Yes, there used to be ten airlines in Myanmar. But Apex Airlines, Air Bagan, Air Mandalay, and FMI airlines have suspended all flights.

New Elephant Parks in Myanmar.

For hundreds of years elephants helped extract teak and hardwoods from jungles that even modern machinery cannot penetrate. The new Government of Myanmar has set a temporary national logging ban in 2016 and a 10-year logging ban in the Pegu Yoma region. It is good news for Myanmars nature and forests but a major problem for the 5500 captive elephants.

Myanma Timber Enterprise (MTE) is planning to develop Elephant Conservation based tourism; and it has so far opened 18 elephant camps across the country, with some 205 elephants. They plan to develop elephant camps for 3000 "unemployed" elephants. The admission fee for foreigner to the elephant parks is is 20.000 Kyats which is about 15 US dollars.

One of the older ethical parks for retired timber logging elephants, already opened in 2011, is Green Hill Valley camp near Kalaw (www.ghvelephant.com). Winga Baw Elephant Camp is near Bago, about a 2 hour drive from Yangon.
Other more remote camps are the small Loikaw Elephant Camp near Loikaw, and the Pho Kyar Elephant Camp 2 hours drive from Taungoo. Nat Pauk Elephant camp is near Katha, north of Mandalay.